The lands around New Atricis that are regarded as Atricis' new territory. Not as big as their previous protective range, but still lots of space and wilds to explore. Dragon Flights and Wher Runs also occur across these lands.

Unfortunately, when Darrow said that being a dayhandler wasn't boring, the first thought to pop into the young man's mind was about how it was with the felines. Then course, that brought up Esca. While it still pained the chimera handler to think about his boyfriend, he tried not to let it show on his face. Darrow had not meant to make him sad or anything, so he would try and make it so that he did not think he had. It had been Turns since that had happened, and while Devyn had learned to be ok with it, or well, as ok as he could be, sometimes it still bothered him to talk, or even think about, Esca being gone. Smiling softly at his friend he just nodded. "This is true. I’m almost positive that Isamuyn is very thankful that everything is boring right now. Sometimes I’m thankful to, but at the same time, I wish something exciting would happen. Even if it means that my daywher will just constantly be worrying about me again." With his chimera the way he was, he knew any little excitement would make the daywher nervous for his handler, and vice versa. Ever since they had lost Esca and Adianca, the two of them had worried more about loosing each other. As much as they tried to fight it, they just couldn't.

Devyn had heard his friend following him back down to the river, and smiled softly as his blue eyes watched him. It came as no shock to the young man that Darrow had picked up on hw to bait a hook and cast very quickly. The black handler was smart, and his friend hadn't really expected anything less of him. Content to know that the young man knew what he was doing, Devyn allowed himself to close his eyes, and relax a little, letting out a soft sigh of contentment.

Humming started, and Devyn kept his eyes closed for another few moments before opening them and glancing over at Darrow. Smiling softly he said, "That sounds familiar. I think thats what we are missing here is some music. If you want to provide some, I don't think I, or anyone else who may come around, would object."

"This is true. I’m almost positive that Isamuyn is very thankful that everything is boring right now. Sometimes I’m thankful to, but at the same time, I wish something exciting would happen. Even if it means that my daywher will just constantly be worrying about me again."

Darrow could understand to a point. Being bored was not fun. When he was a child he had learned quickly to never utter the words 'I'm bored'. Anytime he did his mother or his father would find him something to occupy his time with. However, those activities were never fun. So..after awhile...he learned that when he was bored it was better to find something for himself to do or simply deal with the boredom. "I understand that. As long as it is a good sort of excitement. Who knows? Maybe there'll be a Gather or Festival soon. That would be exciting." And it was far better than the bad sort of excitement.

"That sounds familiar. I think thats what we are missing here is some music. If you want to provide some, I don't think I, or anyone else who may come around, would object."

He stopped his humming for a moment to look over at Devyn and smile. "Old Mountain Thyme is the name of that song." He provided the name for it. His bobber lazily rocked on the surface of the water, obviously no fish was interested in it yet. "Well, all I can provide is singing if I want to keep fishing. Plus, it's the only instrument I have on me at the moment." Darrow was comfortable with Devyn as he was a great friend, but even if he didn't know the man that well singing and playing music was the one thing that he wasn't super shy about.

A gather, or a festival, or a hatching all sounded great to Devyn. The dark haired young man had to admit that those choices were indeed a good kind of excitement. Instead of saying anything though, he just kind of quietly nodded, knowing his friend wouldn’t really mind the silence. Devyn would much rather have that, then the kind of excitement they had had before. Positive excitement was needed now. Actually, while this wasn’t exciting, it was kind of exactly the good thing Devyn was thinking about. Just being with friends, no pressure, no nothing. After all the stress everyone had been under, this was certainly better than anything else.

Once the black handler told Devyn the name of the song, the young man could not help but run the name over in his mind a few times. The song itself sounded familiar, but the name of it was no. Maybe he had just never really thought of knowing the name of it. Listening to his friend, he let himself think for a moment. He knew Darrow was a Harper, but as much as he could remember, he'd never heard the other man sing. As he was humming, he seemed to be on tune, so Devyn could only assume that as a Harper, his singing would be very on tune as well.

Checking his line, and noticing that there still wasn't any bites, his attention turned back to the black handler as he posed his question. Shrugging a bit helplessly, and then chuckling a little out of embarrassment he said, "No, I really don't have any requests. Whatever you feel like singing will be great Im sure."

For a second he seemed to be lost in thought before he added, "As long as you don't mind that is. I know you like singing, but if you didn't want to now, you don't have to."

"No, I really don't have any requests. Whatever you feel like singing will be great Im sure."

Darrow reeled his bobber in a bit more, hoping that the movement would attract something. As he did so he thought about the long list of songs that he knew by heart. It was quite the impressive list, to be honest. He knew things from more modern era songs to songs that were as old as Walled Hold itself. However, the older, more operatic type songs didn't feel like it fit the situation. They were relaxing and having a good time, so perhaps something more nostalgic and homey would be more in order.

"As long as you don't mind that is. I know you like singing, but if you didn't want to now, you don't have to."

"Of course I don't mind. Singing is my life. Well, it was my life, but it is still a big part of it. Playing music or singing has always been the only time I don't feel so...timid and uncertain." Like a child with a security blanket, Darrow thrived best whenever he was surrounded by music. That meant even on stage. Despite there being a crowd of people looking and paying attention to only him, whenever he sang or played it was as if they weren't there.

Darrow thought a little longer on what song to sing, "Okay, I think I have one." He stated and then began to sing a more traditional folk song. One that was about all roads leading to home. It was a nostalgic song, but spoke of the happiness of belonging somewhere. Whenever he was feeling homesick or missed his family he would sing or play this song and it would always make him feel better.

For a few moments, there was a bit of a comfortable silence between the two young men. During that time, the chimera decided that he could probably afford to let his mind wander, even if t was just a little. As he stared out at the two bobbers, the first thing his mind went to was how this had been an amazing day so far, aside from the fact that he had been a little bit late. No harm no foul though he guessed. Was this what it meant to actually relax? The daywher handler actually felt like he was being lazy and should be doing something, but at the same time, this sounded like a really good thing to be doing too.

Smiling softly, the blue eyed young man studied his friend for a moment, glad that the black handler did not feel like he had to do it. Honestly it was nice to see someone doing what they loved. Not that Devyn didn’t like studying the stars, but honestly, he didn’t overly miss it when things got busy. As Darrow spoke, Devyn knew that Darrow missed doing all of that now that he had his own daywher. Nodding, Devyn smiles softly and said, ” Believe it or not, to me, you aren’t the same timid person you used to be. I think your daywher is starting to rub off on you just a bit.”

For a few moments, both of them seemed to be lost in thought once more, and then Darrow said he had thought of a good song. When he began singing, Devyn let his eyes drift around for a few moments, and then he really started listening to the song, a small smile playing on his face. While it was almost a sad smile, he tried to keep it from turning into more than that. Talking about home was not something he liked to do, or think about. Sure he missed his family, but there were just to many memories there. Although, those good memories were what made him miss home every once in a while. Before he knew it, he was humming along since he didn’t know the words. It had a good beat, and was easy to hum along to.

After Darrow was done signing, Devyn found himself clapping and then he said, ”That was a very good choice, and you are a great singer. It was nice to finally hear you singing. I wouldn’t mind staying out here a bit longer and just listening to you sing.”

” Believe it or not, to me, you aren’t the same timid person you used to be. I think your daywher is starting to rub off on you just a bit.”

Darrow could't help but chuckle at that. "Yeah, I think she is. Which isn't a bad thing. I'll be honest, when she first picked me I could not figure out why she did. We're both so opposite of each other, but I guess the old saying 'opposites attract' is very true in our case. She's helped me to come out of my shell more and I've helped her learn how to keep a calm head." Perhaps it was an odd pairing, but he wouldn't trade his daywher in for the world. They were meant to be together.

”That was a very good choice, and you are a great singer. It was nice to finally hear you singing. I wouldn’t mind staying out here a bit longer and just listening to you sing.”

A bit of a blush covered his cheeks at the compliment and he smiled warmly at his friend. "Thank you. I've been singing since before I could walk, I think. My family really wasn't happy when I impressed as it meant losing one of their best singers, but Argow is more important." There was no arrogance in his voice as he spoke, it was simply the truth that he had been one of the best singers and musicians the family had. "My sister, Daela, she impressed not long ago here. She's an amazing dancer. She never really did get the hang of instruments, but then I never got the hang of dancing the way she can. I miss the stage sometimes, but I like being a dayhandler."

Movement of his bobber caught his eye. He watched it closely for a second, hoping that he was getting a bite, but obviously it was a false alarm. "Shoot. I thought I was getting a bite there for a moment." He said.

Devyn was glad that Darrow felt the same way. It honestly would have been kind of odd if the chimera handler had said that, but Darrow didn’t feel that way at all. At the same time, it was also nice to know that he was not just imagining it, that the young black handler really had changed a bit, for the better obviously. Chuckling he said, “Sometimes it just works out that way. With me, Isamuyn is a lot more like me than not, so it didn’t change me much. You though, it’s nice to see you embracing it. I give you a lot of credit because I probably would have resisted it if i would have started changing. Sometimes I fail to realize that change is not always a bad thing.”

The chimera handler tried not to notice that blushthagxame to his friend’s face as he paid him that compliment. Honestly the man hadn’t meant to embarrass the other young man. Then again, he had to compliment him when he had done such a good job. So, while he was sorry for embarrassing him, he was most certainly not sorry for complimenting him on his singing.

While Devyn did not really think it was right that his parents felt that it was not a good thing their son impressed, just because of his talent as a singer, he kept that to himself. A small smile crept onto his face as Darrow spoke about how his black daywher was more important than anything. "Well, that's good to hear you say actually. I never doubted you felt like that, but Im sure there are some people who still don't feel like that about their bondeds. Honestly, it took me a bit to feel like that about Isamuyn. Now though, there's nothing I won't do for him."

Blue eyes looked at his friend as he mentioned his sister. Usually his friend did not talk much about his family. Devyn had wondered a time or two if there had been a reason behind it, or they just didn't talk about stuff like that. "You have a sister? Why did I not know this? I will have to meet her at some point." Of course, he was not mad about it or anything, he just wanted to get to know Darrow's family if he could.

Before the other young man could answer that question, his attention turned back to his fishing pole. For a moment, blue eye lit up at the thought of Darrow catching a fish, but alas, there was no bite. Chuckling a bit he said, "The way you were focused on it I thought you have a bite too." Checking his own pole once more he let out a soft content sigh. "Ok, so where were we? Oh yah, your sister. How have I not met her yet?"

Darrow gave him a warm smile, "Sometimes we can't see when we are changing. Most change is subtle and goes without notice until it's already happened, leaving us to stop and look back to try and figure out when it happened." He said, rather wisely for a man as young as he is. "It's rather inevitable. Usually fighting it only makes things worse than going with the flow. But...I don't know...I've led a rather sheltered life, so I may not know what I'm talking about." He was young, but he wasn't unintelligent. He had a rather good head on his shoulder.

"I can't imagine how anyone wouldn't want something that wanted to bond with them for life. They're wonderful creatures. It's honestly an honor to be a dayhandler. Even more so than belonging to a noble house in Walled." It seemed rather preposterous. Argow was his life now. Yes, he still enjoyed doing his craft, but his life was as a dayhandler now. A guard with the noble profession of protecting the weyr and its people. Was this the life he thought he was going to be living? No, but that wasn't a bad thing.

"Yeah, I have a couple of sisters, but..." Darrow began, but then stopped as Devyn's focus was shifted to his own bobber. He wondered for a moment if the fish had stopped biting for now. If that was the case, then it was probably time to pack up and head home, but he was happy to wait and see a bit longer. "I thought I did, but no such luck." He said with a shrug. "Oh yeah, my sister. Her name is Daela. She impressed to a chimera herself. A pewter-garnet I believe. She's been pretty busy with weyrlinghood. I'll introduce you to her when I can. She's sweet. The two of us are pretty close."

For a few moments, all the chimera handler could do was just stare with blue eyes at his friend. Had Darrow always been this wise, and he had just never noticed it? Well if he was that wise, Devyn knew he would be just fine, and maybe even the older handler himself would be going to the younger black handler for advice every now and then. Darrow would probably not like it much if he came to him asking for advice, but who knew? Devyn wasn’t the greatest with advice, but once in a while he did have a good piece of advice for some people.

Devyn could not help but chuckle at the next thing Darrow said, about not fighting change. ”Well I will keep trying to tell myself that. And I will try not to fight myself changing. Its always kind of hard though ya know?”

For a moment, Devyn considered closely what the other handler was saying. While Darrow was correct in what he was saying, Devyn had been scared out of his mind when he had met and bonded to Isamuyn. Then again, after it had all happened, there was no other daywher he would rather be bonded with. Enthusiastically the chimera handler nodded. ”I came here with my girlfriend Turns ago, hoping to Impress a dragon. She left me for another guy, and that’s how I found Isamuyn. It was pretty much the best thing that has ever happened to me. So I know exactly how you feel. Even though I wasn’t expecting a daywher. I’m certainly glad that I ended up with one.”

Devyn couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought that the fish weren’t really biting today. While it didn’t really bother him, it did make fishing just a tad more boring. This is why the young man was happy that his friend was here with him. If Darrow wouldn’t have been here, it would have been boring as all hell.

Having family around was always good in Devyns opinion. Sometimes, the handler actually found himself wishing that his family was here with him. The letters to and from them just weren’t enough sometimes, but he kept telling himself as long as they kept writing to each other, that was how the family would stay connected, and he was going to stick by that.

”Oh a fellow chimera bonded huh? You really will have to introduce us now.” Of course he was really only teasing the other man. If Devyn never ended up meeting Daela he would not hold it against his friend at all. ”Well that’s even better that the two of you are close. It must be great having her here with you. I know if I could have anyone from my family here, it would be a little better for me. But luckily I have friends like you who kind of help me with that void in my life. You guys are like my family now.” Devyn had not exactly meant to get sentimental, or anything like that, but he wanted to be honest with Darrow, and that was how he felt.

"Oh yeah, change is super hard. Sadly it is easier when we don't realize it. Having to force yourself to change is the hardest and as inevitable as rain itself." Darrow agreed wholeheartedly. "Just remember that change isn't always bad."

His smile pulled downward into a frown as Devyn explained how he ended up at Atricis. "Sorry about that. If she did that to you then you were too good for her anyways. I know that's a cliche thing to say, but you're a good man and deserve better." He could honestly say he'd never even had the pleasure of being turned down by anyone he'd asked out. Shards, he wasn't really even sure what sort he'd even want to ask out. "Yes, in that I am in agreement. I can still play my music and I have a wonderful daywher."

"Well, of course we are. We're the Pack. Can't really be closer than that. I know dragons and their riders are closer bond wise, but I think speaking social structure the daywhers are closer knit." Darrow said with pride. "Yeah, I think Isamuyn is only one of three chimeras at the weyr. He's the only chimera daywher though. I wonder what causes them."